My corgi, Fiona, has always loved people, all kinds, kids, older adults,everyone. Unfortunately, she doesn't much like other dogs. Most of the time it isn't a problem, since I only walk her in the dog parks and on leash. However, once Lucy, the young King Charles Spaniel started coming over two days a week, something had to be done.

I consulted with my vet who recommended feeding the corgi in the laundry room, not in the kitchen. I started right away, but only on the days Lucy was with me. Apparently, Fiona immediately felt the reduction in status. The laundry room isn't quite as much of a cool place to eat as the kitchen apparently. She saw little Lucy as the dominant one and began to be completely relaxed around her. Either that or she thought, "thank goodness, now I can eat in peace, without that puppy bothering me."

We've had such a mild winter that until yesterday the earlier snows had completely melted. Then we got another inch and a half. The wind came up, however, and so I decided to put the coats on the dogs. These are the so-called "Thunder Coats" that give dogs a sense of security during rainstorms, on the 4th of July and also help with separation anxiety. They are really warm and are especially helpful to the family puppy, King Charles Cavalier Lucy.

Joining a local Writing Group is a sure way to meet other writers, have your writing thoughtfully critiqued and find critique partners. While criticism of your writing is very hard to take, especially when you first start writing, it gets easier as time goes by. And Lia has found that anyone who takes the time to read (or listen to) your writing deserves to be heard. It's also true that even if someone's criticism doesn't seem valid to the author, it needs to be taken seriously. If something is confusing to one reader, it will be confusing to others as well.

Lia recently attended "Killer Nashville" a big writer's conference in Nashville, TN. While there she met a number of authors as well as the conference organizers. Killer Nashville has an on-line review site and because she met the editor of that newsletter, Emily, Lia now reviews books for them. So far she has reviewed M.C. Beaton's "Death of a Nurse," "Fortune's Fool" by Jane Sevier, "Death of an Alchemist" by Mary Lawrence and "The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake," by Terry Shames.